A Story from the Woods
by spider-lily08
Summary: Aislin has lived in the woods for years and is finally discovered by Rohirrim soldiers. After a very rude hello from Aislin, Eomer swears to capture her and bring her before his uncle. Only Aislin's punishment involves Eomer in a way that neither of them seen coming. Now Eomer and Aislin have to play nice to be able so survive each other. Eomer/OC
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

Author's Note: Well hello and welcome to the twisted reality that is my mind! So a friend and me had a Lord of the Ring marathon the other week since she had never seen any of them before and since I am a huge lover of the Lord of the Rings(especially Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Eomer) I have decided to write a nice little Eomer fanfic. So read and please enjoy.

Prologue

All she could hear was the sound of people screaming in terror. People were running to and fro trying to get away from the wild men that were laying siege to their village. A young woman of 18 winters was hiding in the coverage of an overturned wagon.

Tears of terror fell from her blue-grey eyes, her dark chocolate hair formed a half curtain over her face, her dark green dress was torn at the bodice from the disgusting wild man that had used her for his own pleasure before her younger brother of 12 winters had stabbed him in the back, killing him. Only to be killed by another wild man a few moments later for his efforts to protect her.

She knew not where her mother and father were. Most likely dead like so many others. The attack on the village had been going on for so long that the young woman lost track of how long she had been hiding under the wagon. The young woman smelt smoke and knew that most of the village buildings had been destroyed by fires that the wild men had started.

The sun had set a few short hours ago but the young woman dared not leave her hiding place. At some point exhaustion had snuck up on the young woman and she feel asleep only to jerk awake by an unknown sound shortly after dawn. After listening for any sound for several minutes and hearing nothing, the young woman slowly crawled out from under the wagon. She looked around in horror at a mostly burned down village, the lifeless bodies of men, women, and children everywhere, and the debris of a being attacked.

_'I cannot stay here. I must find supplies and leave as soon as I am able.'_ the young woman thought frantically. On her search for supplies the young woman found the dead bodies of her mother and father not far from their home. After filling a few sacks with food, clothing, healing supplies, her father's sword and bow and every arrow she could find, her brother's favorite dagger, and a necklace she took off her mother's body, she went in search for a healthy living horse.

After finding a beautiful, healthy raven black horse that must have belonged to one of the lords of the village, the young woman placed a saddle and all of her supplies onto the horses back, mounted, and rode away from the decimated village that was once a happy and cheerful place. In the far off distance the young woman seen her destination. A tree line that lead to the thick forest of Rohan.

_"Always remember, my girl, the forest can provide everything that you need to live. If there is ever a time when you find yourself alone and have no other choice, the forest can provide for you. Food, water, and shelter. Just remember everything I have taught you, and you shall go far in life."_ the young woman heard the voice of her now dead father in her head._ 'I remember papa. I will put everything you taught me to use to keep myself alive.'_ the young woman thought as she headed towards the place she would call home for years to come.


	2. Eomer meets the Lady of the Forest

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

Chapter 1

It had been six years since the day that Aislin had been forced to listen to her father's words and seek refuge in the forest. Very rarely did she travel outside of the forest and only then it was for essentials such as clothing, medicine, and some soap to keep herself as clean as possible.

There was a market village that was a days ride from the forest that she went to when she was forced to leave for supplies. The horse she had rode from her village had died on her 3 years ago. She had picked up a new horse from a village that had been attacked with no survivors in sight a few days later where she took everything of use that she could find.

She felt no guilt for taking from the homes of the dead villagers. They were dead and no longer had any use for their material belongings that they had left behind. She took food, any clothing that would fit, medicine, all the soap she could find, whatever money or valuables she thought she could sell or trade, and anything else she deemed useful. She saddled a healthy looking reddish-brown horse mare she started to call Sasha and rode back towards the hard to find cave she deemed home.

At 24 winters Aislin was unlike most women her age. She was married to no man and had no family. She dressed in boys' tunics and hose more than dresses, which she only wore to sleep, she was an excellent shot with her bow, fairly decent at using a sword, hunted, dressed, and stored her own food, was an excellent tracker and cared little for her appearance.

Over the years she had heard people call her beautiful with her haunting and chilly blue-grey eyes, shoulder length dark chocolate hair that fell in a way that covered her right eye, she was slim but muscular for a woman from all of the hard labor that came from living alone in the woods, and she had the air of a woman that you didn't want to tangled with.

Dressed in a long sleeved dark green tunic, form fitting green pants, knee high brown boots, her hair tied back with a piece of leather, and armed with her bow and a quiver of arrows, Aislin was currently tracking a decent sized female deer for supper that night.

After tracking the deer for a hour, Aislin began to give up hope of finding her.  
_'Should have just went fishing'_ Aislin._ 'So much easier to catch a fish than hunt for an actual animal.'_ Aislin thought to herself.

But she had put off hunting long enough because she had gotten tired of the taste of fish after having it for a week straight. After another half hour, Aislin finally caught up with the deer and silently prepared to fire her arrow.

She lined up her shot and released her arrow that found its target. Aislin took out a cloak she used to wrap her kill in, wrapped the deer in the cloak, put it over her shoulders, and proceeded to her cave to dress her kill.

Eomer, nephew to Theoden King of Rohan and cousin to Theodred Prince of Rohan, sighed as he looked upon another decimated village. Granted this one looked much older that the ones he and the Rohirrim had happened upon lately, but it still saddened and angered him to see a village like this.

There was no sense in killing every living being in the village other than the twisted attackers enjoying the terror and killing that they brought about. They were currently looking for a pack of wild men they had heard was attacking villages out in this section of the Westfold. So far all they had caught up to were the ruined remains of once peaceful villages. Looking around, Eomer caught sight of the tree line in the distance.

"My Lord. We found no survivors. This looks to have happened some years past. What are your orders?" a young soldier asked. "We head for the forest. We should reach the tree line just before sunset. We will make camp for the night and check as much of the forest as we can for the wild men at first light." Eomer said.

The young soldier nodded and left to report their new orders.

Hours later, Eomer and a few other soldiers were sitting around a fire eating small portions of bread and dried meat. Eomer had been in a daze for a while when he heard some of his men talking.

"She's alive, I tell you. The villagers talk of her all the time." Eosain, a young soldier said to Beothed, an older soldier. "Who is alive, Eosain?" Eomer asked taking a bite of his bread. "The woman that lives in the woods my Lord. I was stationed in a village a few days ride from here that spoke of her often." Eosain said with a serious expression. Eomer raised an eyebrow at the young man, having never heard anything of this mysterious forest woman before.

"And what do the villagers say of this woman?" Eomer asked mildly intrigued. "They say that she is a beautiful woman that has lived in the forest for many years now and only travels to the market when she must. They say that she is beautiful but she never talks to anyone she doesn't have to and all of the men are afraid to approach her.

They also say that she is the one that reports all of the village attacks this far out." Eosain said still looking serious.  
"I heard that her ghost roams the forest and abandoned villages close by. I also heard that she kills anyone who gets too close to where her bones lie. I heard that she died many years ago after only living in the forest for a short while." Beothed said looking at the younger soldier as though he were crazy.

Eomer scuffed at both of the soldiers. "That's what comes from listening to villagers gossip. You are both being ridiculous." Eomer said before standing up.

"Get to sleep soon, men. We have alot to do after dawn." Eomer said before he walked off towards his tent. Eomer stood in front of his tent and looked out into the darkness of the thick forest.

_ 'A woman living in the forest. What ridiculous nonsense.'_ Eomer that before he entered his tent for the night.

It was getting close to sunset and Aislin was hungry but determined. She had cautiously been tracking a small pack of soldiers all day but had kept herself at a distance just to be safe. She recognized them to be soldiers of the Rohirrim but she didn't know what their mission was for them to be here since they hardly ever traveled this far out into the Westfold.

She had heard rumors of a large pack of wild men running loose across the plains of Rohan hadn't seen any in weeks. And the ones she had found had been killed and would never be found again. She wanted to keep at a safe distance so that they wouldn't realize that she was following them but they were starting to get a little too close to her cave for her comfort.

_'Time to turn the men around.'_ Aislin thought as she quietly but quickly ran ahead of the soldiers. After running ahead by a quarter of a mile, Aislin found a solid, thick tree to climb and wait for the soldiers. Thankfully it was in the middle of Summer and the trees were thick with leaves and her clothes helped to hide her from the soldiers and living in the woods helped hide her scent from the horses.

A while later Aislin could hear the low tones of the men speaking and the huffing of their horses. Aislin grabbed an arrow, nocked it back, and waited for the men to come into view. Aislin seen the soldier at the front of the small group reach her point and shot her arrow, hitting a limb he had to duck to miss about two feet in front of him.

Aislin seen him jerk back in surprise, accidentally jerking on his reins, and upsetting his horse which reared up onto its back legs. "My Lord!" Aislin heard one of the soldiers shout as they all drew their swords, spears, or bows.

The lord in question drew his sword after calming his horse and began looking around to see where the arrow had come from. "What business do Rohirrim soldiers have in the forest?" Aislin said from her hiding spot loud enough for them to hear. "Who are you? State your name!" Aislin heard the soldier in front yell still looking for her.

He had a deep and an attractive voice. "My name is none of your concern, Sir. If you wish to call me something, then I am known as the Lady in the Forest by the villagers." Aislin said answering his question but not to his satisfaction.

"What business do you have in the forest? Soldiers never travel out this far into the Westfold." Aislin said still trying to find out their mission.

After a long minute the soldier finally answered. "We are tracking a group of wild men that are destroying near by villages. We found some ruins not far from here and decided to check for them here." the soldier answered. The charred remains of her village.

"That village was destroyed many years ago. And there are no wild men here that you will find. None alive anyway." Aislin said speaking of her village for the first time in years.

"There are no wild men here. Take your soldiers and leave." Aislin said. "This forest is the property of Theoden King. It is against the law to reside in the forest without permission from the king." the soldier said in a commanding tone.

"You wouldn't even know I was here if I hadn't shot at you, soldier." Aislin said getting ready to leave.  
_'I guess it's fish again tonight. And all because of these stupid soldiers.'_ Aislin thought as her stomach growled from hunger. "You should take your men and leave, soldier. This forest is a dangerous place to be after with your horses." Aislin said as she started to climb down from her tree only to be stopped by his reply.

"We go nowhere until we have killed the men burning these villages are caught. And after they are caught, I come back for you, Lady of the Forest." he said. Aislin looked up to see the men retreating back the way that they came.


	3. Captured and Brought Before the King

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

Chapter 2

Three months. It had been three months since the Rohirrim had been to the forest. Three months since he been shot at by that damned woman. He had meant what he said about going back to find her. He just hoped that it wouldn't have taken this long to get back to it. After two months they had caught up to the large group of wild men that had been terrorizing the villages.

Eomer had been back in Edoras for two weeks and had only returned because his uncle had sent word to go back to rest after being gone for months. Eomer had told his uncle of the woman that was living in the forest and his uncle had commanded that the woman be caught alive and brought back before him.

Eomer had only brought a handful of men for this mission which caused them to get to their destination much faster than if he had brought a large party of men.

Surely it would only take a handful of men to capture one lone forest woman. The reached the tree line with just enough light left to set up camp and build a fire.

After the warning from the Rohirrim soldier three months ago, Aislin began to check the borders of the forest every few days. She was always relieved when she found the borders empty, but she was not so lucky tonight.

Sasha had been jumpy since sunset so Aislin had decided to check close to the borders for anything unusual. To her dismay she spotted a small camp of what looked to be soldiers.

_'So the soldier spoke true. He came back for me. Well he will have to drag me from this forest bound and by force.'_ Aislin thought as she crept back into the night life of the forest.

Aislin had been up at dawn and prepared to out-smart every single one of the soldiers out to get her. She ate a short but satisfying breakfast of a few slices of bread and some cheese and set off to work.

She had been setting traps for hours, but so far, the soldiers had crossed none of them. Which she thought was odd. Then she heard a big rustling noise a few hundred yards to her left, heard one of the men shout, and smiled to herself.

A week. That was how long the woman had managed to avoid them._ A WEEK!_ He didn't know when she discovered their presence, but she had been ready for them.

After the first day of repeatedly being thrown from their horses, he and the men decided to start leaving the horses behind and track her on foot. But she always seemed to be just a few steps ahead in her planning.

After they had abandoned their horses the men began falling into pit traps, caught in snares, rope nets, and even had tree limbs swing at them. Tree limbs far to big and heavy for a mere woman to pick up.

Eomer had been slightly amused by her antics at first but now they had grown to be a major annoyance. He was determined to catch this woman and bring her back to his uncle.

His water skin was almost empty and he just happened to hear water somewhere ahead and decided to stop for a short rest. Little did he know that that was the best decision he had made all week.

Aislin had lost track of the soldiers some hours ago and had decided to go hunting. All she had managed to kill was a single scrawny rabbit but it was better than nothing. After getting back to camp she removed her bow and quiver inside the cave and grabbed her dressing knife.

She walked out of the cave and stood still for a second. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand and felt as if she was being watched but quickly dismissed it because she had felt that way all week with the soldiers so close. She walked to her small kill and skinned and gutted it. She was rinsing her hands of blood when she heard a twig snack right behind her.

She went to turn right before she felt a rope wrap around her arms just above her elbows and jerk her backwards. As soon as her back hit the ground she felt multiple pairs of hands on her all at once.

Aislin kicked at the hands trying to hold down her legs and feet and was rewarded with a pained grunt from one of the men. Aislin tried to work her arms free but the rope was too far down and too tight to easily wiggle out of.

Aislin continued to fight hard until she felt cold steel against her neck. Aislin slowly laid her head on the ground and followed the blade up to a hand, arm, shoulder, neck, and then she saw the soldiers face._ 'He is as attractive as his voice leads one to believe.'_ Aislin thought looking into the face of the soldier.

He had long, wavy blonde-brown hair, eyes so brown that they looked black, he had a scruffy brown mustache and beard that covered most of his lower face. He had distracted her long enough that his men managed to tie her feet, legs, and upper body tight enough that she had no chance of escape.

Knowing she had been good and captured, Aislin lay there glaring at the attractive Rohirrim soldier. "What do we do now, my lord?" one of the soldiers asked looking down at her. "Search the camp. Gather her things and anything useful you find. We have a two week journey ahead of us back to Edoras. Gather her horse as well." the soldier ordered.

His men broke off in different directions to do as they were commanded. "What is your name woman?" he asked her. Feeling quite angry at being caught by these men, she decided not to answer to his satisfaction.

"I told you once before soldier, if you wish to call me something, you may call me Lady of the Forest. That is what all who know of me call me." Aislin said with a smirk. All who knew her real name were dead and she intended to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"I tire of your games, woman, now tell me your name." he demanded this time. "You have lead us on a chase for you for a week now." he said looking a little angry now. Aislin gave him a teasing smile. "And quite a merry chase it was, soldier." Aislin said with a slight laugh.

"My lord. Her belongings are packed and her horse ready for travel." she heard one of the soldiers tell him. With a huff he sheathed his sword and bent to pick her up from the ground.

He roughly threw her over his shoulder, smiled at her small pained grunt, and walked towards her horse. He placed her over the horse in front of the saddle, mounted the horse, and started back towards their camp.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They had been back at camp for a few hours now and it was well after dark. After they had gotten back to camp and the horses settled, Eomer had told the men to retie the woman's hand in front of her so they could keep an eye on her.

He then had her tied to a small but very sturdy tree not far from where they had the fire burning. Eomer had been surprised by all of the belongings that the woman had possessed. Clothes, both mens and womens, healing supplies and soaps, weapons such as swords, daggers, bows and arrows, thick fur blankets, and food such as dried meat, fresh fish, and slightly stale bread.

Eomer had sent two of his men to the near by market village for more supplies since they had been there days longer than he had wanted to be there so all of the food from her cave was hers.

Eomer had one of the men bring her a small portion of her food, take her to the bushes to relieve herself for the night, and given her a fur blanket to keep warm, Eomer had retired to his bedroll for the night after ordering one of the men to keep watch.

Edoras was only a days ride away. The woman had been very quiet since her capture two weeks ago. She never complained unless it was to give either him or his men a hard time. Eomer had kept her hands tied and had personally tied the reins of her horse, whose name he learned was Sasha, to his saddle.

Eomer had come to notice that Firefoot had taken a liking to Sasha over the past two weeks. What he had noticed immediantly upon capturing the little spitfire of a woman was that the villagers spoke no lie about her beauty. She was truly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even in mens clothing.

She was about as tall as his sister, who was only a few inches shorter than he. She had dark brown hair that fell a little longer than her shoulders, short for a woman. She had a slim but slightly muscular figure for a woman as well. Her skin was tan from so much sun, which most women tried to avoid as well. What he knew of women, they liked to keep their skin pale. But what he knew of women could fit through the eye of a needle. He also noticed that she had full, pale pink lips. And her smile was dazzling.

_ 'Gods, I sound like a woman now.'_ Eomer thought looking over at her. But the one thing he noticed above anything else were her eyes. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before. A haunting blue-grey color. She claimed to have been born and raised in Rohan, but with those features, he could almost swear her from Gondor for they had darker coloring than the people of Rohan. Her hauntingly chilly blue-grey eyes hardly ever held any kind of emotion that he could tell.

Not that he had been looking.

Much.

From what information he had been able to pull from her, she had been living in the forest for years on her own. No living family or friends.

And that was all that he had learned over the course of two weeks. Hopefully she would be more compliant when she faced the king.

The closer the village on the large hill got, otherwise known as Edoras, the higher Aislin's anxiety became. She had no desire to face her king. She had known the law when she had made her decision to live in the forest six years ago.

But soldiers were so few out that far that she figured she would never be caught. And she  
wouldn't have been if she had never shot that stupid arrow at the soldiers head. Which she had purposely missed.  
She did not fear facing the king so much as what her punishment might be. She was a common peasant woman.

She had no living relatives or friends and had no keeper of any kind. She had learned how to become her own keeper. She had almost died many times that first year in the forest. From hunger and disease mostly.

She hadn't known how to hunt or skin an animal. She hadn't known what plants and berries and such were safe for the body. She had become friendly with a medicine woman in the market village and she had taught Aislin what plants had been safe for her to use for medicine and to eat from. Sadly the old woman had died a few years ago to sickness.

Her son had taken over the business and knew Aislin by sight if not name. What she feared the most was that the king would deem her too dangerous to keep around and have her put to death. She had heard that Theoden King was a fair and wise ruler.

She just hoped that he would take pity on her and see the strength that it had taken for a mere woman such as herself to brave the dangerous wilds of the forest. Aislin had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't even realized that they had pasted through the gates of Edoras until she noticed that their horses were no longer running.

Aislin looked around the village and noticed that all of the houses bore the sign of Edoras. Two large horse heads that faced each other, their large noses touching. She noticed that the men, women, and children that were about seem mostly healthy and cheerful. Some people came out of their homes to look at the strange bound woman atop a horse being lead by one of their soldiers.

During their journey Aislin had learned that his name was Eomer. He held the title of Lord and was the Third Marshall of the Riddermark. Not that she had asked, but his men liked to talk of their leader. She had also been shocked to learn that he was the nephew to Theoden King.

He also apparently had a beautiful sister named Lady Eowyn. According to Eomer's men, his sister was the most beautiful in the kingdom of Rohan. Not that she wanted to meet her either. She just wanted to be released so she could go back to the cave she had called home for the past six years.

She had been getting ready to start preparing for the winter. Food was scarce in the winter in the forest. Animals still came out but it was harder to sneak up on them when snow covered the ground and crunched under your feet. Their horses stopped in front of a large stable with a stable hand waiting out front.

Apparently he had heard that they would be arriving and was prepared. Eomer untied Sasha's reins from his saddle and handed them to the boy. Eomer dismounted and she followed suit. There had been little point in fighting after she had been captured. She knew she was no match for a soldier such as him so she had resigned to the fact that she was now a prisoner.

Not that she hated him any less for capturing her. Eomer grabbed her lead rope and began walking towards the infamous Golden Hall of Meduseld. "Time to meet the king, woman. Behave yourself and answer all of the kings questions. Lets go." Eomer said pulling on her rope and started up the steps of the Golden Hall.

Aislin tried to swallow her fear and followed obediently behind him.


	4. First Time Inside in Six Years

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

Chapter 3

Aislin stood in the middle of the throne room terrified. She had only been this scared three times that she could remember.

The first time had been after the wild men had stormed into her village and began killing everyone.

The second time had been when that wild man had grabbed her, threw her to the ground and began to rape her.

The last time had been her first year in the forest when she thought she would die of hunger or disease.

But those times were nothing compared to what she was feeling at the moment. Eomer had cut her loose just before they had entered the Golden Hall and told her to behave herself.

Aislin had given a short, curt bow to the king but she never looked directly at him. At the moment her boots seemed extremely fascinating for thats what she was concentrating on. Guards were stationed all over the hall and had all kept their eyes on her since she had entered the hall with Eomer, who stood not too far from her.

Just in case.

The feel of the guards eyes on her were nothing. The only pair of eyes that she could feel silently burning into her were those that belonged to Theoden King, who sat on his throne. His son, Prince Theodred, stood just behind the throne to his fathers' left. So far the only thing about her that had been discussed was when Eomer had announced to the King that he had brought back the Lady of the Forest as he had commanded.

"I have heard much of the Lady of the Forest these past months. Did you give yourself this name young woman?" she heard the king ask her. Aislin took a shaky breath and answered.

"No, my Lord. The people from the market village not far from where I lived called me that, Your Majesty." she said.

"What is your name?" the King asked her. After six years, someone other than the dead would know her given name. "Aislin daughter of Therin, my Lord." she said trying not to think of the last time she had seen her beloved father.

"And where is your father, Aislin?" Theoden King asked. "Dead, my Lord. As is my mother and younger brother. Six years past, my Lord." Aislin said still not looking at the king. "How did you come to live in the forest, Aislin?" he asked. As much as Aislin didn't want to talk about it, she had to answer.

"An attack, my Lord. Wild men attacked our village without warning and began to kill everyone. I hid under an overturned wagon until I knew they were gone. The next day I packed everything I could think of, saddled a horse, and rode for the woods, my Lord." she answered without having to tell everything that happened that day. Theoden King was silent for a minute before he spoke again.

"Aislin, you are aware that it is a crime to live within the forests of Rohan without permission from your King, which I did not give, are you not?" he asked in a slightly edged tone. "Yes, my Lord, I am aware." she simply said. No sense in digging an early grave for herself. "That is all you have to say for yourself?" the King asked sounding surprised. "Yes, my Lord." she simply said again. The King became silent again.

"Eomer. Escort Aislin to a spare room in the hall and have a guard posted outside her door. I will think of what is to be done with her and give my answer in the morning." Theoden King said to his nephew. "Yes, my Lord." Eomer said bowing his head. He then gently but firmly grabbed Aislin's arm just above the elbow and lead her away from the throne room. Eomer lead her down a few hallways and stopped in front of a large, thick, heavy wooden door.

Eomer opened the door and gently pushed her inside the room. Aislin took a few steps into the room and turned to look at him, slightly scared. "A guard will be posted outside of your door if you need anything. I will see that your belongs are brought to you. Along with a bath and food. You are to remain here until the King calls for you tomorrow. Are we clear?" Eomer said in a tone that demanded she understood what she was told.

"Yes. I understand. Thank you." Aislin said slightly feeling back to her old self. It was only Eomer after all. She had been treating him as an equal for two weeks, why act differently now?

Eomer had left Eosain to in charge of guarding the door to Aislin's room. It was weird to think of her as Aislin now. The name suited her. Eomer was walking back through the throne room where his uncle and sister were talking. He still had yet to greet his uncle and sister properly.

"Eomer. You were gone much longer than you lead me to believe." Eowyn said greeting him with a hug. "Yes, Eomer. You lead us to believe that it would take you and your men no time at all to capture the woman." his uncle said also greeting him with a hug.

"It took much longer than I imagined it would take to capture a lone woman in the forest. But she is much smarter than she leads one to believe. She had traps set everywhere for us and it was by sheer luck that we found where she lived. It took us a week to find where she camped." Eomer said to his uncle.

"I posted Eosain at her door and made it clear to her that she is to stay in her room until she is called for tomorrow. I told one of the men to fetch her belongings from her horse in the stables. I also told one of the maids to have a bath and food brought to her." Eomer explained to his uncle. Eowyn looked at him slightly surprised.

"And she put up no fight?" Eowyn's voice sounded as surprised as her look. "She has been surprisingly obedient since her capture. She is quite the spitfire. And has a mouth to match when she so chooses to open it and speak." Eomer told his sister. Eowyn looked towards the hallway that he had just exited.

"Do you think she will be alright in that small room?" Eowyn asked with a slightly concerned look. "Eowyn, my dear cousin, that room is hardly small. It may not be as large as our own quarters but it is by no means small." his cousin, Theodred, said speaking for the first time since Eomer and Aislin had entered the hall.

"To her it might be. Think, Theodred, she has lived outside for six years. She is not used to being contained by stone walls." Eowyn said speaking a small bit of truth. Aislin had lived outside for years and had not slept in an actual room since the burning of her village. True, she had lived in a cave, but that cave didn't have a thick wooden door on it to lock her inside. "I will check in on her after the evening meal to make sure she is alright." Eomer said seemingly surprising his family. Especially his sister by the look she was giving him.

After a minute of his family not saying a word with their still surprised faces, Eomer decided to excuse himself. "Now if you will excuse me, I would like to bathe and change clothing before the evening meal is served. I shall see you all at supper." Eomer said bowing his head and walked off in the direction of his room, ordering a maid to have a tub and hot water sent to his room for a much needed and much anticipated bath.

Aislin was surprised when the guard opened her door to let in some servants carrying a big wooden hip tub and buckets of steaming water. _'I suppose Eomer made good on his word about a bath.'_ Aislin thought in shock as she watched the servants place the tub and buckets of water in front of the large, burning fireplace. Maids began to pour buckets of water into the tub and then disappeared.

Two maids stayed behind, one to help her wash and one to take her dirty clothes away to be cleaned. At least she hoped she was taking them away to be cleaned and not burned. Aislin felt her face burn having to undress in front of actual people and handed her dirty clothes to one of the women, who promptly left the room.

The other maid helped Aislin into the hip tub and began to help her wash, even after Aislin's insistence of needing no help in bathing.

Aislin hadn't realized how dirty she was until she looked at the bath water after scrubbing her body clean, really clean, for the first time in years. It took four washings of her hair before the maid was satisfied and said her hair was officially clean and that she could get out of the tub.

Aislin reluctantly stepped out of the now lukewarm water. The maid helped her dry off with a linen towel and gave her nightdress that she claimed used to belong to Lady Eowyn, Eomer's sister. It was nothing special and looked old but it was better than what she had been wearing to sleep in for years.

Aislin slipped on the soft white wool nightdress and thanked the maid for all of her help. After about an hour the guard announced that her evening meal had arrived and she thanked him as she accepted it.

It looked to be a plate of warm chicken, some freshly baked bread from the smell of it, and some cheese with a mug of watered down wine. Aislin had had nothing but water to drink for years ad decided to savor her watered down wine for as long as possible.

After finishing her meal she still had half a mug left and, against her better judgment, drank it rather quickly. Aislin left the plate and mug on the small table and began to pace her room, wall to wall.

Aislin was full and warm but the longer she paced the more she felt anxious. It had been years since she had been contained inside a room and she didn't seem to be taking it all that well.

She was used to feeling the fresh forest breeze across her skin, looking up at a big sky full with the moon and stars, lying by a small but warm fire, and falling asleep to the sounds of the forest. She felt a little overly warm by the big fire in the fireplace, she could feel no fresh air through her small window, and could hear nothing but her own footsteps and increasing breathing and heartbeat, which seemed to start pulsing in her head.

Aislin began biting the nail of her thumb as her anxiety grew more and more with each step. Aislin didn't know how long she had been pacing or when Eomer had entered her room, but when he had grabbed her shoulder to stop her pacing, she reacted violently on instinct. Aislin didn't like when people touched her. She still had nightmares of the attack on her village and the wild man that had raped her when she was extremely stressed.

As she now was. Aislin threw her arm out to throw the arm from her shoulder and put every ounce of strength behind the hard shove she placed against the intruders chest and was pushed backwards against the small table, which overturned with her, in the process. Aislin heard another body hit the ground other than her own and the guard at her door burst inside the toom to investigate the noise.

"Lord Eomer, are you alright?" the guard asked Eomer as he helped him up from the hard stone floor. "Yes, Eosain. She was just surprised and overreacted is all. You can go back to your post now." Eomer said dismissing the guard. The guard looked at Aislin and then back to Eomer before he nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

Eomer walked over to Aislin slowly so as not to spook her again and reached his hand out for her to take to help her up from the stone floor.

"I called your name, but you did not answer. Are you alright?" Eomer asked as she slowly placed her hand in his to let him help her up, which he did. Aislin rightened the table and chair and placed the empty plate and mug back onto it with slightly shaky hands, still stressed from being contained in a small cramped space.

"I will be okay. It has just been a very long time since I have been in such a small cramped place such as this. I don't seem to be taking it all that well." Aislin said taking in a shaky breath. Eomer gave her a look she did not understand. "So Eowyn was right. You are not taking to the room very well." Eomer said in a strange tone. That was when Aislin took in Eomer's appearance.

He had bathed since she had last seen him. His hair and face looked cleaner than she had ever seen them and he smelled clean as well. The top portion of his hair was pulled away from his face and seemed to be tied in the back with something. His clothes were much cleaner and nicer as well.

Clothes fitting someone befitting his station in the Golden Hall as the King's nephew. His pants looked to be made of a dark linen of some sort and his dress tunic looked to be made of a soft dark green, and he still had on boots. All in all, he looked every inch of the wealthy man he was. Unlike the strong, fierce Rohirrim soldier she had come to know him as.

And she wasn't so sure she really liked the change.

Eomer had walked into Aislin's room to see her looking slightly panicked, anxiously pacing her room, and muttering to herself. He called her name several times with no answer and seemed to have made the mistake of grabbing her shoulder. She threw his arm away and shoved him onto his ass on the floor.

Eosain burst in to see what the noise was and he sent him away. He helped her up off the floor but she still looked upset. So Eowyn had been right after all. She wasn't taking the room so well. Eomer got that feeling sometimes after being gone for months but it normally passed relatively quickly. But then again, he hadn't lived in the wild for years either.

She would have to learn to like it because whatever his uncle decided, she would have to live inside from now on like everyone else. She was looking a little green so he slowly but gently reached out to grab her arm so as not to spook her again. She was much stronger than she looked.

Eomer grabbed her arm and convinced her to get some sleep. She agreed but seemed in a daze. Eomer helped her into her bed, covered her with one of her fur blankets, blew out a candle, and left her room and sought out his own for a good nights rest in his own bed.


	5. Aislin in the stables

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

Chapter 5

Needless to say, Aislin was surprised with the decision that Lady Eowyn and Eomer had come to about her. She was to be their companion and to do anything that was asked of her by them. Eomer had also said that they would be making a trip to the market the next day to get her more clothing and supplies.

That had been a hellish day for Aislin, and by the looks of him that day, Eomer as well. She knew it wasn't right to think of him as Eomer but she had simply known him as the Rohirrim soldier and it was hard to think of him as Lord Eomer, even if that was what she called him to his face.

That day at the market had been three months ago. Aislin had gotten better about having to live inside the Golden Hall, although on the nights when she had trouble sleeping she would sneak past the guards to get outside. There had been a few times when Aislin would take a walk outside in the dead of night and end up falling asleep in places such a the stables or even big hay piles.

Those were the mornings that she would walk back into the Golden Hall to an extremely worried Lady Eowyn and an extremely angry Eomer. Eomer would always yell at her about still being a half civilized wild woman and not having the good sense to sleep inside like she was supposed to but Lady Eowyn always tried her best to understand how Aislin was feeling. She didn't really understand since she rarely ever had to sleep outside, but for Aislin's sake, she tried.

It was night outside and Aislin was in Lady Eowyn's bedchamber helping her bathe. Aislin still thought it a tad ridiculous that Lords and Ladies had to have assistance to bathe, but she done as she was told and helped Lady Eowyn with her nightly bath.

There were a few times that she had had to help Eomer, mostly because he had some sort of injury that prevented him from doing everything by himself, but he had always been in the water when she had walked in.

Aislin and Eomer were civil towards each other but no one would ever look at them and consider them friends. Aislin washed Lady Eowyn and Eomer's clothing, brought them food when they decided to take their meals in their chambers, attended to them when they were ill, or otherwise injured in Eomer's case.

Aislin helped Lady Eowyn out of the water and gave her a towel to dry off with and her nightdress. Aislin pulled down the blankets of Lady Eowyn's bed, helped her brush out her long golden tresses, and then bid her goodnight.  
Aislin was walking to her chambers when she heard Eomer's voice through his door when she passed it.

Aislin stopped and looked at the door for a minute when she heard him curse loudly again. Aislin sighed and then knocked on his door. She got no answer but she knew he was awake and opened the door.

Aislin walked inside to find Eomer laid out on his back the cold stone floor. The look he sent her when she walked in could have set her ablaze, or running, as she closed the door. He really was a sad sight. His ankle was tightly wrapped, as was his left forearm that was in a splint and a sling. Due to being flung from his horse during a battle during a mission last month, Eomer had landed wrong on his foot and had broken his arm.

Needless to say, he was useless until either Aislin of the Healer said otherwise. Aislin rolled her eyes, left the chamber, and returned a few minutes later with some ointment and bandages. She placed them on the small table beside his bed and turned to look down at him. She then placed both hands on her hips and looked down at him as if he were a disobedient child._ 'He certainly acts as if he is a disobedient child.'_ Aislin thought looking down at him.

"What were you doing up? You were strictly instructed to remain in that bed unless someone was in here to assist you." Aislin said glaring down at him.

Eomer glared right back. "I don't need any help woman. I've been wounded far worse than this before." he said from the floor. Aislin had a very strong and violent urge to kick the arrogant, injured man while he was still on the floor. Instead she walked around him, grabbed him around the chest from behind, and carefully helped him back into his bed.

After she was sure he could get back in without falling she walked towards the fireplace and put some more wood on the fire to chase out the chill. Aislin then turned and after looking at Eomer, realized he was still in his day clothes.

She was partially grateful for that.

Aislin had made the mistake of charging in one morning and startling him. She learned that morning that when in the privacy of his own chambers, Eomer liked to sleep without a stitch of clothing on. While Aislin could certainly appreciate how wonderfully muscular and manly he was, she had also been extremely embarrassed.

"Let me check your injuries and change your bandages so you can get some sleep." Aislin said walking towards him. Aislin reached him and reached for the hem of his tunic. Eomer grabbed her wrist to stop her from going an further. "What do you think you're doing, Aislin?" Eomer demanded. Aislin just gave him a bored look.

"Removing your shirt so that I can check your arm, my Lord. And besides, you can't very well remove your shirt by ourself with that arm." she explained. Eomer understood but it didn't mean that he liked it.

Aislin, with some help from Eomer, removed his shirt. She then very gently unwrapped his arm. She gently and carefully poked and squeezed a few places and asked how bad the pain was. After a few terse answers Aislin gently applied some ointment to help keep swelling down, which wasn't a real problem at this point, and then rewrapped his arm.

Aislin then kneeled onto the floor to check his ankle, which would have healed by now if he had learned to stay off of it. It was slightly swollen and mildly discolored. Aislin shot Eomer quite a nasty look. "What this time, Aislin?" Eomer barked. "It's swollen and discolored. It wasn't like that this morning. What did you do to it?" Aislin demanded as she somewhat roughly applied the ointment.

Eomer was quiet for a few moments before he spoke. "I stepped wrong. It's why I fell." Eomer finally admitted. "And could you try to be a little more gentle?! Dammit, woman, that hurts." Eomer then yelled. Aislin glared at him. "Then maybe you should keep your ass in bed like both I and Ellena have told you numerous times! I've told you Eomer, if you don't stay off of it it will never heal!" Aislin yelled right back.

It was while she was bandaging his ankle that she realized she called him Eomer.

But if he wasn't going to say anything about it, then neither was she.

A month had passed since that night Aislin had barged into his room. Even though he had been annoyed that she had seen him in such a pathetic state had only fueled his annoyance.

But Aislin was not a woman to back down from a fight. Eomer still knew very little of Aislin, other than what she had told his uncle all those months ago, and as far as he knew Eowyn knew just as much as he did.

Eowyn tried very hard to befriend Aislin and in some ways Aislin had let Eowyn in. Not very deeply but just a little. Eomer did know that she still had nights where she couldn't stand to be indoors and would sneak outside. It made him angry every time Eowyn would charge in yelling that Aislin was gone, mostly because the woman didn't have the good sense to come back in.

The first time she had done had sent Eowyn into a tailspin and himself into a rage. His first thought had been that she had managed to run away. He had gotten dressed and prepared to ride out to track her down when he found her curled up in an empty stall in the stables.

He had given her a much deserved tongue lashing and told her to never do it again. She had done it again three weeks later. She had been doing it less frequently lately and had given her less of a hard time when she did. Eomer had made a point to check on her every night before he retired for the evening and had found her chamber empty tonight.

_'Well it has been a while since she's disappeared.'_ Eomer thought turning and headed towards the stables. She always slept in the same stall so he knew where to find her.

Eomer walked into the quiet stables and headed towards the empty stall. As he got closer to it he thought he heard a noise. Eomer stopped and listened for a minute. 'Is that crying?' Eomer thought quickly walking to the opening of the stall.

Curled up in the corner was Aislin. She was curled up in a thick wool cloak on the hay covered floor. But unlike the other times he had found her, Aislin was crying in her sleep. Eomer stood there for a moment in shock.

Eomer hated when women cried. In truth, he didn't know a man alive that liked it when women cried.

But this was Aislin.

The half civilized wild woman. As unshakable as a rock and as tough as leather. In his mind, Aislin just didn't cry.

And yet here she was, crying like a small child in her sleep. Eomer quietly walked forward so as not to disturb her. Eomer reached down to wake her but he words stopped him.

"Theosel, I'm so sorry. Please, get up. Mama! Papa! Theosel! Get up! Please, get up!" she started screaming. _'That's enough.'_ Eomer thought. "Aislin. Aislin. Wake up. You need to get back inside." he said shaking her shoulder. Aislin jerked awake but didn't really look awake to him.

"Eomer. What are you doing here?" Aislin asked breathless. She then began to look around wildly and looked at him with full blown panic in her eyes.

"Eomer you need to leave. If they find you, they'll kill you too. Just like everyone else. Please, you must leave!" Aislin said franticly trying to push him away.

Eomer decided not to listen to her and picked her up in his arms. "Well then you're coming with me. Can't have them killing you too." Eomer said going along with whatever dream she was still having.

Aislin threw one arm around his shoulders and the other grabbed a handful of his tunic. She turned her tear stained face into his shoulder and continued to slightly sob.

By the time Eomer got her back to her chamber, she was fast asleep. She still seemed a but restless but nowhere close to the fitful mess he had found in the stables.

Eomer left her curled up on her bed in the thick wool cloak and threw a few more logs into the fireplace before he closed her door and walked to his own room to retire and think about what he had heard Aislin say in the stables.

He then decided that he would try a little harder to learn more about and try to understand what made his beautiful and wild ward tick.

AN: So it may not be much, but hey, it's something right? And now that Eomer realizes that Aislin is, in fact a full blown woman, maybe he will work a little harder to be nice to her. But unlike you, My Freaky Darlings, only I really know ;p


	6. Story and Agreement

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognize. Short ad sweet.

A/N: I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. Right now my main problem with my stories is knowing where I want them to go but trying to figure out how to get it just right. Like this chapter for example. It gets the point across but I'm not sure I did it much justice. Anyway, I'm going to try and take a break from my reader mode (I don't see that happening much though to be truthful) and go into writer mode. So this chapter isn't very long but please enjoy, read, review, and any ideas from my lovely darlings are welcome.

Chapter 6

It had been a week since Eomer had found Aislin crying in the stables. Eomer hadn't told her about it but was a little nicer to her when they spoke. Which he had to admit, wasn't very often. Around midday Eomer was walking to the stables to saddle up Firefoot and went for a ride.

While on his ride Eomer came up with a plan. Aislin had been his ward for almost four months now and he still knew very little about her. So now, whether she liked it or not, she was going to tell him everything. He may not have been the easiest person to get along with but he wasn't a bad person. Ill-tempered and gruff at times but not deliberately mean.

So, for the sake of being a good guardian, Eomer was going to get her to talk to him. And then he would figure out where to go from there.

They had just finished the evening meal when Eomer walked up to Aislin and asked her to take a short walk with him to the stables. The request confused Aislin since Eomer had never asked her to take a walk with him before. But she was a curious creature by nature, so she agreed.

They walked to the stables and stopped at Firefoot's stall. They were both quiet for a while when she Eomer speak. "Who is Theosel?" Eomer asked. Aislin's stroking hand stopped on Firefoot's face. Her entire body was now tightly coiled with tension. "Where did you learn that name?" she whispered with her back still to him.

"You. The last time you fell asleep in here you were crying in your sleep and kept calling out to him. Who is he?" Eomer asked. Aislin walked over to Sasha's stall to give herself time to think. After she reached Sasha, Aislin began to pet her face and neck.

"He was my brother. He wasn't very old. Almost thirteen winters." Aislin said not wanting to say more but she knew that Eomer wouldn't be satisfied with her answer.

"He died in the attack?" Eomer asked from behind her. Aislin sighed. "Yes. The day of the attack started like every other. We woke and ate the morning meal together. The day continued like always. Mama was doing the laundry, Papa was inside because he got hurt after he had been thrown from a young horse, and Theosel and I were finishing up our chores." she said.

"Then we heard the warning bell for danger but it was too late. The wild men were already in the village. They raided the houses first. Then they started killing the villagers. I watched many of my friends being killed. I tried to hide because I had heard stories of what wild men do to some of the women they catch before they killed them." she said with a shaky breath.

Eomer knew what some of the wild men did with some of the prettier women they caught. It didn't happen often but on the few rare occasions the Rohirrim had made it in time to stop an attack. Most of the women recovered but they were never really the same afterwards.

"I couldn't find a good enough place to hide from them. I couldn't even find my family in all of the confusion. And then I was caught. Theosel had managed to find me after the wild man took me. Theosel killed him. But as soon as I got that disgusting man off me, I looked up to see Theosel being run through by another wild man." Eomer heard her say.

"By the time I got to him, he was already dead. Theosel was dead and not long after, I seen the bodies of my parents laying not far from our home. I seen an overturned wagon and hid there until the next morning. After the sun rose, I took what I could find and ran for the safety of the forest. And stayed there until Rohirrim soldiers showed up." Aislin finished.

"Who taught you to use weapons?" Eomer asked. Aislin lightly laughed. "No one, my lord. I learned the basics of how to use a bow from my father, but I had to improve my skill quickly if I wanted to eat." Aislin said looking back at him.

"And your sword? How much could you possibly need a sword in the forest?" Eomer asked curious. Aislin gave him a shallow smile that never reached her eyes. "Not much. Which is why it was only for show. If it ever came to me having to use it to save myself, I'm afraid that I would be dead rather quickly." she said looking at him still.  
Aislin looked at him very intently for a minute and then asked him a question he had not been expecting. "Will you teach me how to use a sword properly, my lord?" she asked.

"Why would you wish to know how to use a sword?" Eomer asked. "I have noticed that Lady Eowyn has some skill with a sword. And I will not always be your ward, my lord. If I am ever under attack again and find myself in a situation where my life is in danger, I would wish to fight for my life. And a sword would be the best thing to accomplish such a feat." Aislin said now fully facing him.

She had a point. She would not always be under his and Eowyn's protection and times were getting very dangerous with all of the attacks by increasing Orc forces and wild men. She never said that he had to train her until she was an expert with a sword.

"I suppose I could give you a few lessons. Just enough that I think that you could survive in an attack. I leave in two days to go on patrol and will be gone for no longer than two weeks. Your lessons will start after I return. Agreed?" he asked even though it wasn't really a question.

This time when Aislin smiled it reached her eyes. To Eomer it just made her look even more beautiful than she already was. Not that he would ever tell her that though.

"Yes. Thank you very much , my lord!" Aislin exclaimed.


End file.
